World champion opens £30k cricket nets in Ramsey

RAMSEY Cricket Club welcomed a world champion to open a new £30,000 training nets facility.

RAMSEY Cricket Club welcomed a world champion to open a new £30,000 training nets facility.

Lydia Greenway – a key member of the England women’s team which captured the World Cup in 2009 – cut the ribbon on the two-lane nets, which have been jointly funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Donarbon Community Fund.

The ECB contributed £22,000 to the project on the strength of the club’s development plan for women’s and girls’ cricket.

Ramsey has a thriving women’s section, with a team in the Cambs and Hunts Women’s League, and in partnership with Upwood and Warboys cricket clubs, runs girls’ teams at under-11 and under-13 age groups.

The new nets will mean more people will be able to get involved in cricket at the club, according to development manager Michael Kay.

He said: “The funding is a catalyst for the continued growth of these two sections, and the club as a whole, and is part of our project to get the club a little bit more in the spotlight in the town.”

More than 45 NatWest CricketForce volunteers joined in a day of painting, gardening and DIY on April 9 to get the club in shape for the new season.

Mr Kay said the new nets were, along with a new £9,000 artificial wicket laid last summer, part of the club’s attempts to bring more people into the club.

“Our mission statement is ‘Enhancing the lives of the people of Ramsey through cricket’, but as well as playing cricket, we offer volunteering opportunities for youngsters and chances to build their CVs,” said Mr Kay.

The club also hopes to pioneer a new form of six-a-side soft-ball Turbo Cricket this summer, and to involve other nearby clubs in a league due to start in June.

INFORMATION: To find out more about getting involved with Ramsey Cricket Club visit www.ramseycchunts.play-cricket.com/